Clifford Miranda’s superior coaching speaks for itself

BY AUGUSTO RODRIGUES

“We (Indian) coaches need to find out the reason why owners of football clubs are not confident in appointing us as first-team coaches. I think the owners have been fair to us so far, and we should not be crying that we are not getting good deals,” was Clifford Miranda’s reaction after finishing as the first Indian coach to have won the Super Cup for an ISL team.

“Maybe we are not good enough, or we are not convincing and still need to work two times more than foreign coaches to convince the owners. When one owner is convinced, others will follow,” says Clifford, who was put on a coaching track by FC Goa, confidently.

“I succeeded with my boys because I followed a process and could convince my players of the merits of the methodology I was following. I think there are Indian coaches doing the same, but none of us have been able to convince the owners,” believes Clifford.

“The essence of good coaching is the ability to share time equally with all the boys and focus on small details like seeing that the water to drink is in the proper place. A good coach has to back what he has just spoken with his players,” says Clifford, as he prepares Odisha FC for the AFC match on April 29.

“My contract with Odisha expires at the end of next month, but I have no time to think of what I will be doing next because the AFC Cup match is my immediate priority. I will think of what I have to do next later,” admits Clifford, who showed his passion for football in his early days with Dempo SC where he won five national titles.

“Process in coaching terms means the ability to explain to the players the methodology of training; the importance of each drill; steps and the reason for moving from one drill to another. Coaching is about following a plan in a professional and organised manner,” discloses Clifford, who attributes his success to his players first.

“Most professional Indian coaches follow a process, but it could be that we are doing it in a haphazard manner. Personally, my greatest happiness after winning the tournament was the fact that I followed a process and it paid off,” feels Clifford, who is in Kerala with the team.

“My stint under Juan Ferrando was the best because he gave me a lot of responsibility as his assistant. He left me to do a lot of things and that helped me learn things from a practical point of view,” acknowledges Clifford when asked to pick the best of the three coaches (Sergio Lobera, Juan Ferrando and Josep Gombau) that he worked under.

“As I said earlier, I still do not know with whom I am going to be next season. As I said, my contract expires soon, and I have not decided anything. It will be a decision I take at the right moment,” stated Clifford when asked how comfortable he will be working under Sergio Lobera again.

Clifford, who started his coaching stint with the FC Goa U-18 setup, graduated from an “A” license coach to a pro license coach under the same team until he switched over to Odisha FC.

“My dream is to one day coach a team from Europe,” was how he rounded off the conversation.